Sharing support server, sharing system, sharing support method, and non-transitory recording medium

ABSTRACT

A sharing support server that supports use of a resource to be shared among a plurality of users includes circuitry to receive, from a communication terminal being used in an event, information on an action item generated in the event using the resource, and store, in a memory, first information, which indicates a storage location of image data indicating content of the action item, and second information, which indicates whether the action item is a main or a sub, and further indicates, when indicating the sub, relationship with a corresponding main action item in association with each other. The circuitry receives, from the communication terminal, an action item check request, generates, in response to the request, screen data that includes the image data representing the content identified by the first information and data representing the relationship identified by the second information, and transmits the screen data to the communication terminal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35U.S.C. § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-065600, filed onMar. 29, 2018, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a sharing support server, a sharingsystem, a sharing support method, and a non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing instructions for executing a sharing support method.

Related Art

In recent years, at conferences or meeting in corporations, educationalinstitutions, government institutions, and the like, electronicwhiteboards are used. The electronic whiteboard displays a backgroundimage on a large-type display and allows users to draw stroke imagessuch as texts, numbers, figures, or the like on the background image.

In an event such as a conference or meeting, an action item isgenerated. In order to make sure that the action item generated in theevent is to be executed, the user accesses a server or the like managinga schedule (plan, date, etc.) by using a personal computer (PC) or thelike and registers the action item.

SUMMARY

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a sharingsupport server supporting use of a resource to be shared among aplurality of users. The sharing support server includes circuitry toreceive, from a communication terminal, information on an action itemgenerated in an event using the resource. The communication terminal isused in the event. The circuitry stores, in a memory, first informationand second information in association with each other. The firstinformation is information on a storage location of image dataindicating content of the action item, and the second informationindicates whether the action item is a main action item or a sub actionitem, and further indicates, when indicating the sub action item,relationship with a corresponding main action item. The circuitryreceives, from the communication terminal, an action item check requestand generates, in response to the action item check request, screen dataof the action item. The screen data includes the image data representingthe content identified by the first information and data representingthe relationship identified by the second information. The circuitrytransmits the screen data to the communication terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendantadvantages and features thereof can be readily obtained and understoodfrom the following detailed description with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a sharingsystem according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardwareconfiguration of an electronic whiteboard, according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardwareconfiguration of a videoconference terminal according to an embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardwareconfiguration of a car navigation device according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardwareconfiguration of each of a personal computer (PC) and servers accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B (FIG. 6) are a schematic block diagram illustratinga functional configuration of a sharing system according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user authenticationmanagement table, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an access management table,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7C is a conceptual diagram illustrating a plan management table,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8A is a conceptual diagram illustrating an executed eventmanagement table, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an action item managementtable, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user authenticationmanagement table, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user management table,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9C is a conceptual diagram illustrating a shared resourcemanagement table, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a shared resourcereservation management table, according to an embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 10B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an event management table,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a server authenticationmanagement table, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a project membermanagement table, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11C is a conceptual diagram illustrating an action item managementtable, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of registering aschedule, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a sign-in screen, according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 14 is an illustration of an initial screen of a PC, according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 15 is an illustration of a schedule input screen, according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of starting anevent, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 17 is an illustration of a shared resource reservation list screen,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of starting anevent, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 19 is an illustration of a project list screen, according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 20 is an illustration of a detail information screen for an event,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 21 is an illustration for explaining a use scenario of anelectronic whiteboard, according an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of registering anaction item, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 23 is an illustration of a screen for displaying an action item,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 24 is an illustration of a screen for displaying a list ofprospective executors of an action item, according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 25 is an illustration of a screen for displaying a calendar forselecting a due date of an action item, according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of checking anaction item using an electronic whiteboard, according to an embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 27 is an illustration of an action item screen displayed using anelectronic whiteboard, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 28 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of checking anaction item using a PC, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 29 is an illustration of a project list screen displayed using aPC, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 30 is an illustration of an action item screen displayed using aPC, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The accompanying drawings are intended to depict example embodiments ofthe present disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scopethereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn toscale unless explicitly noted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The terminology used herein is for describing particular embodimentsonly and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”and/or “including”, when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. In describing preferred embodimentsillustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for thesake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this patent specification isnot intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected, andit is to be understood that each specific element includes all technicalequivalents that have the same function, operation in a similar manner,and achieve a similar result.

Referring to the drawings, a sharing system 1 according to an embodimentof the disclosure is described in detail. In the following descriptionof the present embodiment, a “file” means an “electronic file”.

Overview of System Configuration

First, an overview of a configuration of the sharing system 1 isdescribed. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration ofthe sharing system 1 according to an embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the sharing system 1 according to the presentembodiment includes an electronic whiteboard 2, a videoconferenceterminal 3, a car navigation device 4, a personal computer (PC) 5, asharing support server 6, and a schedule management server 8.

The electronic whiteboard 2, the videoconference terminal 3, the carnavigation device 4, the PC 5, the sharing support server 6, and theschedule management server 8 can communicate each other through acommunication network 10. The communication network 10 is implemented bythe Internet, a mobile communication network, and a local area network(LAN), for example. The communication network 10 may include, inaddition to a wired network, a wireless network in compliance with suchas 3rd Generation (3G), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and the like.

The electronic whiteboard 2 is used in a meeting room X. Thevideoconference terminal 3 is used in a meeting room Y. A resource thatis shared or to be shared by, or among, a plurality of users andrequires a reservation for use. Any one of the resources that are sharedor to be shared by, or among, the plurality of users is, hereinafter,referred to as a shared resource or a resource to be shared. The carnavigation device 4 is used in a vehicle α. The vehicle α is a vehiclefor a car sharing, namely the vehicle a is to be shared by a pluralityof users.

The “shared resource”, which may be also referred to as the “resource tobe shared”, includes a resource, a service, a space (room), a place, andinformation each of which is shared to be used by a plurality of users,groups of people, or the like, for example. The meeting room X, themeeting room Y, and the vehicle α are examples of the shared resourcesthat are to be shared by the plurality of users. An example ofinformation to be shared is an account. For example, in a case where thenumber of accounts to be used is limited to one in a service provided onthe web, an account (an example of information) is used as a sharedresource.

The electronic whiteboard 2, the videoconference terminal 3, and the carnavigation device 4 are examples of communication terminals. Thecommunication terminal used in the vehicle a includes not only the carnavigation device 4 but also a smartphone etc. installed with a carnavigation application.

The PC 5 is an information processing device and is an example of aregistration device used by a user for registering, to the schedulemanagement server 8, a reservation for use of each shared resource andan event scheduled by the user. The event is, for example, a meeting, aconference, a gathering, an assembly, a counseling, a driving, a riding,or the like.

The sharing support server 6 is a computer and remotely supports eachcommunication terminal for sharing the shared resource.

The schedule management server 8 is a server computer and manages areservation made for each shared resource and a plan and a schedule foreach user.

Hardware Configuration

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, a hardware configuration of the apparatus orthe terminal in the sharing system 1 according to the present embodimentis described.

Hardware Configuration of Electronic Whiteboard

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardwareconfiguration of the electronic whiteboard 2 according to the presentembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the electronic whiteboard 2includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a read only memory (ROM)202, a random access memory (RAM) 203, a solid state drive (SSD) 204, anetwork interface (I/F) 205, and an external device connection interface(I/F) 206.

The CPU 201 controls the entire operation of the electronic whiteboard2. The ROM 202 stores programs including an Initial Program Loader (IPL)to boot the CPU 201. The RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201.The SSD 204 stores various data such as a control program for theelectronic whiteboard 2. The network I/F 205 controls communicationestablished with an external device through the communication network10. The external device connection I/F 206 controls communication with aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) memory 2600, and external devices, whichincludes a camera 2400, a speaker 2300, and a microphone 2200.

The electronic whiteboard 2 further includes a capturing device 211, agraphics processing unit (GPU) 212, a display controller 213, a contactsensor 214, a sensor controller 215, an electronic pen controller 216, ashort-range communication circuit 219, and an antenna 219 a for theshort-range communication circuit 219.

The capturing device 211 causes a display 508 of a PC 5, which isdescribed later, to display a still image or a video image (movie) basedon image data. The GPU 212 is a semiconductor chip dedicated tographics. The display controller 213 controls display of an imageprocessed at the GPU 212 for outputting on a display 220 of theelectronic whiteboard 2. The contact sensor 214 detects a touch madeonto the display 220 with an electronic pen 2500 or a user's hand H. Thesensor controller 215 controls the contact sensor 214. The contactsensor 214 inputs and senses a coordinate by using an infrared blockingsystem. More specifically, the display 220 is provided with two lightreceiving elements disposed on both upper side ends of the display 220and a reflector frame. The light receiving elements emit a plurality ofinfrared rays in parallel to a touch panel of the display 220. The lightreceiving elements receive lights passing in directions that are thesame as optical paths of the emitted infrared rays, which are reflectedby the reflector frame. The contact sensor 214 outputs an identifier(ID) of the infrared ray that is blocked by an object after beingemitted from the light receiving elements, to the sensor controller 215.Based on the ID of the infrared ray, the sensor controller 215 detects aspecific coordinate that is touched by the object. The electronic pencontroller 216 communicates with the electronic pen 2500 to detect atouch by using the tip or bottom of the electronic pen 2500 to thedisplay 220. The short-range communication circuit 219 is acommunication circuit that communicates in compliance with the nearfield communication (NFC), the Bluetooth (registered trademark) or thelike.

The electronic whiteboard 2 further includes a bus line 210. The busline 210 is an address bus or a data bus that electrically connects theelements illustrated in FIG. 2, such as the CPU 201, to each other.

The contact sensor 214 is not limited to the infrared blocking systemtype, and may be a different type of detector, such as a capacitancetouch panel that identifies a contact position by detecting a change incapacitance, a resistance film touch panel that identifies a contactposition by detecting a change in voltage of two opposed resistancefilms, or an electromagnetic induction touch panel that identifies acontact position by detecting electromagnetic induction caused bycontact of an object to a display. In addition or in alternative todetecting a touch by the tip or bottom of the electronic pen 2500, theelectronic pen controller 216 may also detect a touch by another part ofthe electronic pen 2500, such as a part held by a hand of the user.

Hardware Configuration of Videoconference Terminal

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of ahardware configuration of the videoconference terminal 3 according tothe present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the videoconferenceterminal 3 includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, a flash memory 304,an SSD 305, a medium I/F 307, an operation key 308, a power switch 309,a bus line 310, a network I/F 311, a complementary metal oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) sensor 312, an imaging element I/F 313, amicrophone 314, a speaker 315, an audio input/output (I/O) I/F 316, adisplay I/F 317, an external device connection I/F 318, a short-rangecommunication circuit 319, and an antenna 319 a for the short-rangecommunication circuit 319. The CPU 301 controls the entire operation ofthe videoconference terminal 3. The ROM 302 stores programs including anIPL to boot the CPU 301. The RANI 303 is used as a work area for the CPU301. The flash memory 304 stores various types of data such as acommunication control program, image data, and audio data. The SSD 305controls reading or writing of various types of data from or to theflash memory 304 under control of the CPU 301. In alternative to theSSD, a hard disk drive (HDD) may be used. The medium I/F 307 reads orwrites (stores) data from or to a recording medium 306 such as a flashmemory. The operation key 308 is operated according to a user inputindicating an instruction in selecting a communication destination fromthe videoconference terminal 3, for example. The power switch 309 is aswitch that turns on or off the power of the videoconference terminal 3.

The network I/F 311 enables the videoconference terminal 3 to establisha data communication with an external device through the communicationnetwork 10 such as the Internet. The CMOS sensor 312 is an example of abuilt-in imaging device capable of capturing a subject under control ofthe CPU 301. The imaging element I/F 313 is a circuit that controlsdriving of the CMOS sensor 312. The microphone 314 is an example of abuilt-in sound collecting device capable of inputting sounds. The audioI/O I/F 316 is a circuit for inputting or outputting an audio signal tothe microphone 314 or from the speaker 315 under control of the CPU 301.The display I/F 317 is a circuit for transmitting image data to anexternal display 320 under control of the CPU 301. The external deviceconnection I/F 318 is an interface that connects the videoconferenceterminal 3 to various external devices. The short-range communicationcircuit 319 is a communication circuit that communicates in compliancewith, for example, an NFC or the Bluetooth.

The bus line 310 may be an address bus or a data bus, which electricallyconnects the elements illustrated in FIG. 3, such as the CPU 301, toeach other.

The display 320 is an example of a display unit, such as a liquidcrystal or organic electroluminescence (EL) display that displays animage of subject, an operation icon, and the like. The display 320 isconnected to the display I/F 317 by a cable 320 c. The cable 320 c maybe an analog red green blue (RGB) (video graphic array (VGA)) signalcable, a component video cable, a high-definition multimedia interface(HDMI) (registered trademark) signal cable, or a digital videointeractive (DVI) signal cable.

As an alternative to the CMOS sensor 312, another imaging element suchas a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor may be used. The external deviceconnection I/F 318 is capable of connecting an external device such asan external camera, an external microphone, and an external speakerthrough a USB cable or the like. When an external camera is connected,the external camera is driven in preference to the built-in CMOS sensor312 under control of the CPU 301. In a similar manner, when an externalmicrophone is connected, or an external speaker is connected, theexternal microphone or the external speaker is driven in preference tothe built-in microphone 314 or the built-in speaker 315 under control ofthe CPU 301.

The recording medium 306 is detachable from the videoconference terminal3. The recording medium 306 is not limited to the flash memory 304. Therecording medium 306 may be any non-volatile memory that reads or writesdata under control of the CPU 301. In some embodiments, an electricallyerasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) is used.

Hardware Configuration of Car Navigation Device

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of ahardware configuration of the car navigation device 4 according to thepresent embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the car navigation device4 includes a CPU 401, a ROM 402, a RANI 403, an EEPROM 404, a powerswitch 405, an acceleration and orientation sensor 406, a medium I/F408, and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 409.

The CPU 401 controls the entire operation of the car navigation device4. The ROM 402 stores programs including an IPL to boot the CPU 401. TheRAM 403 is used as a work area for the CPU 401. The EEPROM 404 reads orwrites various types of data such as a control program for the carnavigation device 4 under control of the CPU 401. The power switch 405is a switch that turns on or off the power of the car navigation device4. The acceleration and orientation sensor 406 includes various sensorssuch as an acceleration sensor and an electromagnetic compass orgyrocompass, which detects geomagnetism. The medium I/F 408 controlsreading or writing of data with respect to a recording medium 407 suchas a flash memory. The GPS receiver 409 receives a GPS signal from a GPSsatellite.

The car navigation device 4 further includes a long-range communicationcircuit 411, an antenna 411 a for the long-range communication circuit411, a CMOS sensor 412, an imaging element I/F 413, a microphone 414, aspeaker 415, an audio I/O I/F 416, a display 417, a display I/F 418, anexternal device connection I/F 419, a short-range communication circuit420, and an antenna 420 a for the short-range communication circuit 420.

The long-range communication circuit 411 receives, for example, trafficjam information, road construction information, traffic accidentinformation that are provided from an external infrastructure. Thelong-range communication circuit 411 further transmits to the outside ofthe vehicle, for example, information on a position where the ownvehicle currently is and a signal for emergency. The externalinfrastructure includes a road information guidance system such asVehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) (registeredtrademark), for example. The CMOS sensor 412 is an example of a built-inimaging device capable of capturing a subject under control of the CPU401. The imaging element I/F 413 is a circuit that controls driving ofthe CMOS sensor 412. The microphone 414 is an example of a built-insound collecting device capable of inputting sounds. The audio I/O I/F416 is a circuit for inputting and outputting an audio signal betweenthe microphone 414 and the speaker 415 under control of the CPU 401. Thedisplay 417 is an example of a display unit, such as a liquid crystal ororganic electroluminescence (EL) display that displays an image ofsubject, and/or an operation icon, for example. The display 417 has afunction of a touch panel. The touch panel is an example of input devicethat enables the user to input a user instruction for operating the carnavigation device 4. The display I/F 418 is a circuit for displaying animage on the display 417. The external device connection I/F 419 is aninterface that connects the car navigation device 4 to various externaldevices. The short-range communication circuit 420 is a communicationcircuit that communicates in compliance with, for example, an NFC or theBluetooth. The car navigation device 4 is further provided with a busline 410. The bus line 410 is an address bus or a data bus thatelectrically connects the elements illustrated in FIG. 4, such as theCPU 401, to each other.

Hardware configurations of PC and Server

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardwareconfiguration of each of the PC 5 and the servers 6 and 8.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the PC 5, which is implemented by a computer,includes a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, a hard disk (HD) 504, a harddisk drive (HDD) controller 505, a recording medium 506, a medium I/F507, a display 508, a network I/F 509, a keyboard 511, a mouse 512, acompact disc rewritable (CD-RW) drive 514, and a bus line 510.

The CPU 501 controls the entire operation of the PC 5. The ROM 502stores programs including an IPL to boot the CPU 501. The RAM 503 isused as a work area for the CPU 501. The HD 504 stores various types ofdata such as a control program. The HDD controller 505 controls readingor writing of various types of data to or from the HD 504 under controlof the CPU 501. The medium I/F 507 controls reading or writing of datawith respect to a recording medium 506 such as a flash memory. Thedisplay 508 displays various types of information including a cursor, amenu, a window, characters, and an image. The network I/F 509 is aninterface that controls data communication performed with an externaldevice through the communication network 10. The keyboard 511 is oneexample of an input device provided with a plurality of keys forallowing a user to input characters, numerals, or various instructions.The mouse 512 is another example of the input device with which the userselects a specific instruction or execution, selects a target forprocessing, and moves a cursor displayed. The CD-RW drive 514 controlsreading or writing of various types of data from or to a CD-RW 513,which is one example of a detachable storage medium.

The PC 5 is further provided with a bus line 510. The bus line 510 is anaddress bus or a data bus that electrically connects the elementsillustrated in FIG. 5, such as the CPU 501, to each other.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the sharing support server 6,includes a CPU 601, a ROM 602, a RAM 603, an HD 604, an HDD controller605, a recording medium 606, a medium I/F 607, a display 608, a networkI/F 609, a keyboard 611, a mouse 612, a CD-RW drive 614, and a bus line610. These elements of the sharing support server 6 has substantiallythe same configuration of the elements of the PC 5 including the CPU501, the ROM 502, the RAM 503, the HD 504, the HDD controller 505, therecording medium 506, the medium I/F 507, the display 508, the networkI/F 509, the keyboard 511, the mouse 512, the CD-RW drive 514, and thebus line 510, and the redundant description is omitted here.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the schedule management server 8includes a CPU 801, a ROM 802, a RAM 803, an HD 804, an HDD controller805, a recording medium 806, a medium I/F 807, a display 808, a networkI/F 809, a keyboard 811, a mouse 812, a CD-RW drive 814, and a bus line810. These elements of the schedule management server 8 hassubstantially the same configuration of the elements of the PC 5including the CPU 501, the ROM 502, the RAM 503, the HD 504, the HDDcontroller 505, the recording medium 506, the medium I/F 507, thedisplay 508, the network I/F 509, the keyboard 511, the mouse 512, theCD-RW drive 514, and the bus line 510, and the redundant description isomitted here.

Further, any one of the above-described control programs may be recordedin a file in a format installable or executable on a computer-readablerecording medium for distribution. Examples of the recording mediuminclude, but not limited to, a compact disc-recordable (CD-R), a digitalversatile disc (DVD), a blue-ray disc, and a secure digital (SD) card.In addition, such recording medium may be provided in the form of aprogram product to users within a certain country or outside thatcountry.

The sharing support server 6 may be configured by a single computer or aplurality of computers to which divided portions (functions, means, orstorages) are arbitrarily assigned. This also applies to the schedulemanagement server 8.

Functional Configuration of Sharing System

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 10, a functional configuration of the sharingsystem 1 according to the present embodiment is described. FIG. 6A andFIG. 6B (FIG. 6) are a schematic block diagram illustrating thefunctional configuration of the sharing system 1. In FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B(FIG. 6), units, or sections, of the terminals, devices, and servers,illustrated in FIG. 1 related to processes or operation described beloware illustrated.

Functional Configuration of Electronic Whiteboard

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the electronic whiteboard 2 includes atransmission and reception unit 21, a receiving unit 22, an image andaudio processing unit 23, a display control unit 24, a determinationunit 25, a recognition unit 26, an acquisition and provision unit 28,and writing and reading unit 29. Each of the-above mentioned units is afunction that is implemented by or that is caused to function byoperating any of the elements illustrated in FIG. 2 according to aninstruction from the CPU 201 according to a program, which is expandedfrom the SSD 204 to the RAM 203. The electronic whiteboard 2 furtherincludes a memory 2000, which is implemented by the RAM 203 and SSD 204illustrated in FIG. 2.

Functional Units of Electronic Whiteboard

Each functional unit of the electronic whiteboard 2 is described below.The transmission and reception unit 21, which may be implemented by theinstructions of the CPU 201, the network I/F 205, and the externaldevice connection I/F 206, illustrated in FIG. 2, transmits or receivesvarious types of data (or information) to or from other terminals,apparatuses, and systems through the communication network 10.

The receiving unit 22, which is implemented by the instructions of theCPU 201, the contact sensor 214, and the electronic pen controller 216,illustrated in FIG. 2, receives various inputs from the user.

The image and audio processing unit 23, which is implemented by theinstructions of the CPU 201, illustrated in FIG. 2, applies imageprocessing to image data that is obtained by capturing a subject by thecamera 2400. After voice sounds generated by a user is converted toaudio signals by the microphone 2200, the image and audio processingunit 23 performs processing on audio data corresponding to the audiosignals. The image and audio processing unit 23 further outputs theaudio signals according to the audio data to the speaker 2300, and thespeaker 2300 outputs the voice sounds. The image and audio processingunit 23 also obtains drawn image data, which is drawn by the user withthe electronic pen 2500 or the user's hand H onto the display 220, andconverts the drawn image data to coordinate data. For example, when anyelectronic whiteboard (e.g., a first electronic whiteboard 2 a)transmits coordinate data to another electronic whiteboard (e.g., asecond electronic whiteboard 2 b), the second electronic whiteboard 2 bcauses the display 220 to display a drawn image having the same contentwith an image drawn with the first electronic whiteboard 2 a based onthe received coordinate data.

The display control unit 24, which is implemented by the instructions ofthe CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 2 and the display controller 213illustrated in FIG. 2, causes the display 220 to display a drawn image.

The determination unit 25, which is implemented by the instructions ofthe CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 2, performs various types ofdetermination.

The recognition unit 26, which is implemented by the instructions of theCPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 2, recognizes an identified area that ismade by a line 262 drawn with the electronic pen 2500 on the display220, as illustrated in FIG. 23, which is described later.

The acquisition and provision unit 28, which is implemented by theinstructions of the CPU 201 and the short-range communication circuit219 with the antenna 219 a, illustrated in FIG. 2, communicates with aprivately-owned terminal such as an integrated circuit (IC) card or asmartphone to acquire or provide data from or to the IC card or thesmartphone by short-range communication.

The writing and reading unit 29, which is implemented by theinstructions of the CPU 201 and the SSD 204 illustrated in FIG. 2,stores various types of data in the memory 2000 and reads various typesof data stored in the memory 2000 or the recording medium 2100. Thememory 2000 overwrites the image data or the audio data each time whenthe image data or the audio data is received in communicating withanother electronic whiteboard or videoconference terminal. The display220 displays an image based on image data before being overwritten, andthe speaker 2300 outputs audio based on audio data before beingoverwritten. The recording medium 2100 is implemented by a USB memory2600 illustrated in FIG. 2.

The functions of each of the videoconference terminal 3 and the carnavigation device 4 are substantially the same as those of theelectronic whiteboard 2 except for the receiving unit 22, and theredundant description thereof is omitted here.

Functional Configuration of PC

The PC 5 includes a transmission and reception unit 51, a receiving unit52, a display control unit 54, and a writing and reading unit 59. Eachof the above-mentioned units is a function that is implemented by orthat is caused to function by operating any of the elements illustratedin FIG. 5 according to an instruction from the CPU 501 according to aprogram expanded from the RD 504 to the RAM 503. The PC 5 furtherincludes a memory 5000 implemented by the HD 504 illustrated in FIG. 5.

Functional Units of PC

Each functional unit of the PC 5 is described below. The transmissionand reception unit 51, which may be implemented by the instructions fromthe CPU 501 and the network I/F 509 illustrated in FIG. 5, transmits orreceives various types of data (or information) to or from eachterminal, device, or system through the communication network 10.

The receiving unit 52, which is implemented by the instructions of theCPU 501, the keyboard 511, and the mouse 512 illustrated in FIG. 5,receives various inputs from the user.

The display control unit 54, which is implemented by the instructions ofthe CPU 501 illustrated in FIG. 5, controls the display 508 to displayan image.

The writing and reading unit 59, which may be implemented by theinstructions of the CPU 501 and the HDD controller 505, illustrated inFIG. 5, performs processing to store various types of data in the memory5000 or read various types of data stored in the memory 2000.

Functional Configuration of Sharing Support Server

The sharing support server 6 includes a transmission and reception unit61, an authentication unit 62, a preparation unit 63, a generating unit64, a determination unit 65, and a writing and reading unit 69. Each ofthe above-mentioned units is a function that is implemented by or thatis caused to function by operating any of the elements illustrated inFIG. 5 according to an instruction from the CPU 601 according to asharing support program expanded from the HD 604 to the RAM 603. Thesharing support server 6 further includes a memory 6000 implemented by,for example, the HD 604 illustrated in FIG. 5.

User Authentication Management Table

FIG. 7A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user authenticationmanagement table, according to the present embodiment. The memory 6000stores a user authentication management database (DB) 6001 including theauthentication management table illustrated in FIG. 7A. Theauthentication management table stores, for each user, namely for eachrecord, being managed, a user ID for identifying the user, a user name,an organization ID for identifying an organization to which the userbelongs and a password, in association with each other. The organizationID also includes a domain name representing a group or an organizationfor managing a plurality of computers on the communication network.

Access Management Table

FIG. 7B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an access management table,according to the present embodiment. The memory 6000 stores an accessmanagement DB 6002 including the access management table illustrated inFIG. 7B. The access management table stores, for each access, namely foreach record, being managed, an organization ID, an access ID used toauthenticate the access to the schedule management server 8, and anaccess password, in association with each other. The access ID and theaccess password are required when the sharing support server 6 uses aservice (function) provided by the schedule management server 8 via theweb Application Programming Interface (API) or the like. The schedulemanagement server 8 manages a plurality of schedulers which aredifferent from each other depending on an organization, and, due tothis, the schedulers are required to be managed in the access managementtable.

Plan Management Table

FIG. 7C is a conceptual diagram illustrating a plan management table,according to the present embodiment. The memory 6000 stores a planmanagement DB 6003 including the plan management table illustrated inFIG. 7C. The plan management table stores, for each planned event ID andexecuted event ID, namely for each record, an organization ID, a user IDfor identifying a user who makes a reservation, information on theparticipation (i.e., the presence or absence) of the user who makes areservation, a name of a user who makes a reservation, a scheduled starttime, a scheduled end time, an event name, an user ID of a participantother than the user who makes a reservation, information on theparticipation (i.e., the presence or absence) of a participant otherthan the user who makes a reservation, and a name of a participant otherthan the user who makes a reservation, in association with each other.Regarding the information on participation in the plan management table,the presence is indicated by “YES”, as illustrated in FIG. 7C, and theabsence is indicated by “NO”.

The planned event ID is identification information for identifying anevent for which a reservation has been made. The executed event ID isidentification information for identifying an event that is actuallycarried out (executed) among the events for which the reservations havebeen made. The user name of a user who makes a reservation is a name ofa user who reserves the shared resource. For example, when the sharedresource is a meeting room, the user name of a user who makes areservation is a name of a person who holds a meeting, and when theshared resource is a vehicle, the user name of a user who makes areservation is a name of a driver of the vehicle. The scheduled starttime indicates a scheduled time to start using the shared resource. Thescheduled end time indicates a scheduled end date and time to end usingthe shared resource. The event name indicates an event name of an eventplanned to be carried out by the user who makes a reservation. The userID of a participant other than the user who makes a reservation isidentification information for identifying a participant other than theuser who makes a reservation. The name of a participant other than theuser who makes a reservation is a name of the participant other than theuser who makes a reservation. This includes the shared resource as well.That is, the name of a participant other than the user who makes areservation includes the share resource in addition to the user whomakes a reservation and the other participants (users).

Executed Event Management Table

FIG. 8A is a conceptual diagram illustrating an executed eventmanagement table, according to the present embodiment. The memory 6000stores an executed event management DB 6004 including the executed eventmanagement table illustrated in FIG. 8A. The executed event managementtable stores, for each record, a project ID and an executed event ID, inassociation with each other. The project ID is identificationinformation for identifying a project. As illustrated in FIG. 19, whichis described later, the project ID is assigned for each project such as“next year's policy” and “customer development”.

Action Item Management Table

FIG. 8B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an action item managementtable, according to the present embodiment. The memory 6000 stores anaction item management DB 6005 including the action item managementtable illustrated in FIG. 8B. An action item is generated in an eventsuch as a meeting in a project, and content of the action item indicatesan action, or a task, that is to be taken, or that is to be executed, bya person (executor) who relates to the event. The action item managementtable stores, for each executed event ID, an action item ID, one or morerecord. Each record has a user ID of an executor of the action item, adue date, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of image data, and main(parent) action item ID, in association with each other. The URL is anexample of information on a storage location (first information). In thedescription of the embodiment, an executor of an action item means anexecutor who is responsible for executing an action item.

The action item ID is identification information for identifying anaction item generated in each event. As illustrated in FIG. 30, which isdescribed later, the action item ID is assigned for each action itemsuch as submitting minutes (“submit minutes”) and preparing a proposeddocument for a client (“prepare proposed document for client”). The duedate indicates a deadline for completing an action, or a task, indicatedby the action item. The URL of an image data indicates a storagelocation of the image data (saving destination of image data) indicatingthe action item. When the action item indicated by the action item ID isa sub (child), the main action item ID is an ID for managing the mainaction item related to this action item. Data of “00000” indicates thatthere is no corresponding main action item.

The column of the main action item ID is an example of informationindicating whether an action item is a main action item or a sub actionitem (second information). Hereinafter, this information is alsoreferred to as action item related information. When the main actionitem ID is managed in a record of the table, this indicates that theaction item of the record is a sub action item. The action item relatedinformation may be identification information indicated by such as“main” for identifying the main action item and “sub” for identifyingthe sub action item.

Functional Configuration of Sharing Support Server

Each unit of the functional configuration of the sharing support server6 is described in detail below. In the following description of thefunctional configuration of the sharing support server 6, the hardwareelements related to each functional unit of the sharing support server6, illustrated in FIG. 5, are also described.

The transmission and reception unit 61 of the sharing support server 6illustrated in FIG. 6B, which is implemented by the instructions of theCPU 601 illustrated in FIG. 5 and the network I/F 609 illustrated inFIG. 5, transmits or receives various types of data (or information) toor from another terminal, device, or system through the communicationnetwork 10.

The authentication unit 62, which is implemented by the instructions ofthe CPU 601 illustrated in FIG. 5, determines whether information (e.g.,a user ID, an organization ID, and a password) transmitted from theshared resource is information that is previously registered in the userauthentication management DB 6001 or not.

The preparation unit 63, which is implemented by the instructions of theCPU 601 illustrated in FIG. 5, prepares, or generates, a reservationlist screen as illustrated in FIG. 17, which is described later, basedon reservation information and plan information transmitted from theschedule management server 8.

In addition, the preparation unit 63 prepares, or generates, screen datafor an action item list. The screen data for an action item includesmain image data, which is image data indicating content of a main actionitem, and sub image data, which is image data indicating content of asub action item associated with the main image data.

The generating unit 64, which is implemented by the instructions of theCPU 601 illustrated in FIG. 5, generates an executed event ID, an actionitem ID, and a URL, which is a storage location (destination).

The determination unit 65, which is implemented by the instructions ofthe CPU 601 illustrated in FIG. 5, performs various types ofdetermination. A detailed description of the determination is deferred.

The writing and reading unit 69, which may be implemented by theinstructions of the CPU 601 illustrated in FIG. 5 and the HDD controller605 illustrated in FIG. 5, performs processing to store various types ofdata in the memory 6000 or to read various types of data stored in thememory 6000.

Functional Configuration of Schedule Management Server

The schedule management server 8 includes a transmission and receptionunit 81, an authentication unit 82, and a writing and reading unit 89.Each of the above-mentioned units is a function that is implemented byor that is caused to function by operating any of the elementsillustrated in FIG. 5 according to an instruction from the CPU 801according to a schedule management program expanded from the HD 804 tothe RAM 803. The schedule management server 8 further includes a memory8000 implemented by, for example, the HD 804 illustrated in FIG. 5.

User Authentication Management Table

FIG. 9A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user authenticationmanagement table, according to the present embodiment. The memory 8000stores a user authentication management DB 8001 including the userauthentication management table illustrated in FIG. 9A. The userauthentication management table stores, for each user ID, namely foreach record, being managed, an organization ID for identifying anorganization to which the user belongs and a password, in associationwith each other.

User Management Table

FIG. 9B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user management table,according to the present embodiment. The memory 8000 stores a usermanagement DB 8002 including the user management table illustrated inFIG. 9B. The user management table stores, for each organization IDbeing managed, one or more records. Each record includes a user ID and auser name of a user identified by the user ID, in association with eachother.

Shared Resource Management Table

FIG. 9C is a conceptual diagram illustrating a shared resourcemanagement table, according to the present embodiment. The memory 8000stores a shared resource management DB 8003 including the sharedresource management table illustrated in FIG. 9C. The shared resourcemanagement table stores, for each organization ID being managed, one ormore records. Each record includes a shared resource ID for identifyinga shared resource and a name of the shared resource (resource name), inassociation with each other.

Shared Resource Reservation Management Table

FIG. 10A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a shared resourcereservation management table, according to the present embodiment. Thememory 8000 stores a shared resource reservation management DB 8004including the shared resource reservation management table illustratedin FIG. 10A. The shared resource reservation management table stores, arecord of reservation information in which pieces of information areassociated with each other. For each record, the reservation informationincludes an organization ID, a shared resource ID, a shared resourcename, a user ID who makes reservation, a scheduled use start date andtime, a scheduled use end date and time of use, and an event name. Thescheduled use start date and time indicates a scheduled date and time tostart using the shared resource. The scheduled use end date and timeindicates a scheduled date and time to end using the shared resource.Each of the scheduled use start date and time and the scheduled use enddate and time usually includes and indicates a year of time, a month oftime, a day of time, an hour of time, a minute of time, a second of timeand a time zone, but in FIG. 10A, a year of time, a month of time, a dayof time, and an hour of time and minute of time are indicated due to thelimitation of a space.

Event Management Table

FIG. 10B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an event management table,according to the present embodiment. The memory 8000 stores an eventmanagement DB 8005 including the event management table illustrated inFIG. 10B. The event management table stores plan information in whichpieces of information are associated with each other for each record.The plan information includes, for each organization ID being managed, auser ID, a user name, an event start date and time, event end date andtime, and an event name, which are associated with each other. Thescheduled event start date and time indicates a scheduled date and timeto start carrying out a corresponding event. The scheduled event enddate and time indicates a scheduled date and time to end thecorresponding event. Each of the scheduled event start date and time andthe scheduled event end date and time usually includes and indicates ayear of time, a month of time, a day of time, an hour of time, a minuteof time, a second of time and a time zone, but in FIG. 10B, a year oftime, a month of time, a day of time, and an hour of time and minute oftime are indicated due to the limitation of a space.

Server Authentication Management Table

FIG. 11A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a server authenticationmanagement table, according to the present embodiment. The memory 8000stores a server authentication management DB 8006 including the serverauthentication management table illustrated in FIG. 11A. The serverauthentication management table stores, for each record, an access IDand an access password in association with each other. To the access IDand the access password, the same concept as the access ID and theaccess password managed by the access management DB 6002 of the sharingsupport server 6 is given.

Project Member Management Table

FIG. 11B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a project membermanagement table, according to the present embodiment. The memory 8000stores a project member management DB 8007 including the project membermanagement table illustrated in FIG. 11B. The project member managementtable stores, for each organization ID, one or more records. Each recordincludes a project ID, a project name, and a user ID of project memberin association with each other.

Action Item management Table

FIG. 11C is a conceptual diagram illustrating an action item managementtable, according to the present embodiment. The memory 8000 stores anaction item management DB 8008 including the action item managementtable illustrated in FIG. 11C. A part of the data items managed in theaction item management DB 8008 is the same as a part of the data itemsmanaged in the action item management DB 6005. The same data items in arecord of executed event ID includes the executed event ID, the actionitem ID, the user ID of the executor of the action item, and the duedate.

Functional Configuration of Schedule Management Server

Each unit of the functional configuration of the schedule managementserver 8 is described in detail below. In the following description ofthe functional configuration of the schedule management server 8, thehardware elements related to each functional unit of the schedulemanagement server 8, illustrated in FIG. 5, are also described.

The transmission and reception unit 81 of the schedule management server8 illustrated in FIG. 6B, which is implemented by the instructions ofthe CPU 801 illustrated in FIG. 5 and the network I/F 809 illustrated inFIG. 5, transmits or receives various types of data (or information) toor from another terminal, device, or system through the communicationnetwork 10.

The authentication unit 82, which is implemented by the instructions ofthe CPU 801 illustrated in FIG. 5, determines whether information (e.g.,a user ID, an organization ID, and a password) transmitted from theshared resource is information that is previously registered in the userauthentication management DB 8001 or not. In addition, theauthentication unit 82 performs authentication by determining whetherthe information (e.g., an access ID and an access password) transmittedfrom the sharing support server 6 is information that is previouslyregistered in the server authentication management DB 8006.

The writing and reading unit 89, which may be implemented by theinstructions of the CPU 801 illustrated in FIG. 5 and the HDD controller805 illustrated in FIG. 5, performs processing to store various types ofdata in the memory 8000 or to read various types of data stored in thememory 8000.

Any one of the IDs described above is an example of identificationinformation. In addition, the organization ID includes a company name,an office name, a department name, a region name, and the like.Furthermore, the user identification information includes an employeenumber, a driver license number, and an individual number called “MyNumber” under the Japanese Social Security and Tax Number System.

Operation or Process

A description is given below of processes or operation according to thepresent embodiment.

Process of Registering Schedule

A process in which a user A (e.g., Taro Ricoh) registers a his or herschedule with the schedule management server 8 from the PC 5 isdescribed below with reference to FIG. 12 to FIG. 15. FIG. 12 is asequence diagram illustrating a process of registering a schedule,according to the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is an illustration of asign-in screen, according to the present embodiment. FIG. 15 is anillustration of a screen for inputting a schedule, which is hereinafter,also referred to as a schedule input screen, according to the presentembodiment.

When the user A operates, for example, the keyboard 511 of the PC 5, thedisplay control unit 54 of the PC 5 causes the display 508 to display asign-in screen 530, which is illustrated in FIG. 13, for sign-in (StepS11). The sign-in screen 530 has an input field 531 for inputting a userID and organization ID of a user, an input field 532 for inputting apassword, a sign-in button 538 to be pressed to sign in, and a cancelbutton 539 to be pressed to cancel the sign-in. In the example of thepresent embodiment, the user ID and the organization ID is an electronicmail (E-mail) address of the user A. A part of the e-mail addressindicating a user name is the user ID, and another part of the e-mailaddress indicating a domain name is the organization ID. Note that theinput field 531 may have a field for inputting a user ID and anotherfield for inputting an organization ID separately, instead of inputtingan e-mail address.

Subsequently, when the user A inputs his or her user ID and organizationID in the input field 531, enters his or her password in the input field532, and presses the sign-in button 538, the receiving unit 52 receivesa sign-in request for sign-in (Step S12). Subsequently, the transmissionand reception unit 51 of the PC 5 transmits, to the schedule managementserver 8, sign-in request information indicating the sign-in request(Step S13). The sign-in request information includes the information(i.e., the user ID, the organization ID, and the password) received inS12. Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 81 of the schedulemanagement server 8 receives the sign-in request information.

Subsequently, the authentication unit 82 of the schedule managementserver 8 authenticates the user A using the user ID, the organizationID, and the password (Step S14). More specifically, the writing andreading unit 89 refers the user authentication management DB 8001 (seeFIG. 9A) to search for a set of a user ID, an organization ID, and apassword corresponding to the user ID, organization ID, and the passwordthat are received in S13. When there is the corresponding set, theauthentication unit 82 determines that the user A, who is a source ofthe request, is an authorized user. When there is no corresponding set,the authentication unit 82 determines that the user A is not anauthorized (unauthorized) user. When the user A is not an authorizeduser, the transmission and reception unit 81 transmits, to the PC 5, anotification indicating that the user A is not an authorized user. Inthe following, an example in which the user A is an authorized userdescribed.

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 81 transmits anauthentication result to the PC 5 (Step S15). Accordingly, thetransmission and reception unit 51 of the PC 5 receives theauthentication result.

Subsequently, the display control unit 54 of the PC 5 causes the display508 to display an initial screen 540, which is illustrated in FIG. 14(Step S16). The initial screen 540 has a “register schedule” button 541for registering a schedule and a “check action item” button 542 forviewing action items. When the user presses the “register schedule”button 541, the receiving unit 52 receives a schedule registration (StepS17). Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 51 transmits aschedule registration request to the schedule management server 8 (StepS18). Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 81 of theschedule management server 8 receives the schedule registration request.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 of the schedule managementserver 8 searches the user management DB 8002 (see FIG. 9B) using theorganization ID received in S13 as a search key and reads all user IDsand all user names corresponding to the search key (Step S19). Then, thetransmission and reception unit 81 transmits schedule input screeninformation to the PC 5 (Step S20). The schedule input screeninformation includes all user IDs and all user names that are read inS19. All user names include a user name of the user A who made areservation and who input for the sign-in in S12. Accordingly, thetransmission and reception unit 51 of the PC 5 receives the scheduleinput screen information.

Subsequently, the display control unit 54 of the PC 5 causes the display508 to display a schedule input screen 550, which is illustrated in FIG.15 (Step S21).

The schedule input screen 550 includes an input field 551 for inputtingan event name, an input field 552 for inputting a shared resource ID ora shared resource name, an input field 553 for inputting a scheduledevent start date and time (date and time for starting using a sharedresource), an input field 554 for inputting a scheduled event end dateand time (date and time for ending using a shared resource), an inputfield 555 for entering a memo such as an agenda, a display field 556 fordisplaying a name of a user who makes a reservation, a selection menu557 for selecting participants other than the user who makes areservation, an “OK” button 558 to be pressed to register thereservation, and a “CANCEL” button 559 to be pressed to cancel theinputs. The user name of a user who makes a reservation is the name ofthe user who inputs for the sign-in using the PC 5 in S12. In addition,a mouse pointer p1 is also displayed.

It should be noted that an e-mail address may be entered in the inputfield 552. In addition, when a shared resource name is selected in theselection menu 557, the shared resource is also added as a participant.

Subsequently, when the user A inputs an item in each of the input fields551 to 555, selects names of users (user names), who are desiredparticipants of the meeting, from the selection menu 557 by using thepointer p1, and presses the “OK” button 558, the receiving unit 52receives the inputs of schedule information (Step S22). Subsequently,the transmission and reception unit 51 transmits the scheduleinformation to the schedule management server 8 (Step S23). The scheduleinformation includes an event name, a shared resource ID (or a shareresource name), a scheduled start date and time, a scheduled end dateand time, a user ID of each participant, and a memo. When a sharedresource ID is entered in the input field 552 on the schedule inputscreen 550, the shared resource ID is transmitted, and when a sharedresource name is entered in the input field 552, the shared resource istransmitted. On the schedule input screen 550, the user name is selectedin the selection menu 557, but since the user ID is also received inS20, the user ID corresponding to the user name is transmitted.Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 81 of the schedulemanagement server 8 receives the schedule information.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 of the schedule managementserver 8 searches the shared resource management DB 8003 (see FIG. 9C)using the shared resource ID (or shared resource name) received in S23as a search key and reads a shared resource name (or a shared resourceID) corresponding to the search key (Step S24).

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 stores the reservationinformation in the shared resource reservation management DB 8004 (seeFIG. 10A) (Step S25). In this case, the writing and reading unit 89 addsone record of the reservation information to the shared resourcereservation management table of the shared resource reservationmanagement DB 8004 managed by a scheduler registered in advance. Thereservation information is configured based on the schedule informationreceived in S23 and the shared resource name (or shared resource ID)read in S24. In addition, the scheduled use start date and time in theshared resource reservation management DB 8004 corresponds to thescheduled start date and time in the schedule information. In addition,the scheduled use end date and time in the shared resource reservationmanagement DB 8004 corresponds to the scheduled end date and time in theschedule information.

In addition, the writing and reading unit 89 stores the plan informationin the event management DB 8005 (see FIG. 10B) (Step S26). In this case,the writing and reading unit 89 adds one record of the plan informationto the event management table of the event management DB 8005 managed bya scheduler registered in advance. The plan information is configuredbased on the schedule information received in S23. In addition, thescheduled event start date and time in the event management DB 8005corresponds to the scheduled start date and time in the scheduleinformation. In addition, the scheduled event end date and time in theevent management DB 8005 corresponds to the scheduled end date and timein the schedule information.

As described above, the user A registers his or her schedule with theschedule management server 8.

Process of Starting Event

A process in which the user A (e.g., Taro Ricoh) holds a meeting withother participants using the electronic whiteboard 2 in the meeting roomX that is reserved by the user A in advance is described below withreference to FIG. 16 to FIG. 21. FIG. 16 and FIG. 18 are sequencediagrams each of which illustrates a process of starting an event,according to the present embodiment. FIG. 17 is an illustration of ashared resource reservation list screen, according to the presentembodiment. FIG. 19 is an illustration of a project list screen,according to the present embodiment. FIG. 20 is an illustration of adetail information screen for an event, according to the presentembodiment. FIG. 21 is an illustration for explaining a use scenario ofthe electronic whiteboard 2, according to the present embodiment.

First, when a user presses the power switch 222 of the electronicwhiteboard 2, the receiving unit 22 of the electronic whiteboard 2receives power on (Step S31). Subsequently, the transmission andreception unit 21 transmits sign-in request information indicating asign-in request to the sharing support server 6 (Step S32). In thisexample, when the user simply presses the power switch 222, thetransmission and reception unit 21 automatically transmits the sign-inrequest information. The sign-in request information includes time zoneinformation associated with a country or a region in which theelectronic whiteboard 2 is located, a user ID, an organization ID, and apassword of a user of the communication terminal (in this example, theelectronic whiteboard 2). Accordingly, the transmission and receptionunit 61 of the sharing support server 6 receives the sign-in requestinformation.

Subsequently, the authentication unit 82 of the schedule managementserver 8 authenticates the user A using the user ID, the organizationID, and the password (Step S34). More specifically, the writing andreading unit 69 refers the user authentication management DB 6001 (seeFIG. 7A) to search for a set of a user ID, an organization ID, and apassword, using the user ID, the organization ID, and the password thatare received in S33 as a search key. When there is the correspondingset, the authentication unit 82 determines that the user A, who is asource of the request, is an authorized user. When there is nocorresponding set, the authentication unit 82 determines that the userA, who is a source of the request, is not an authorized (unauthorized)user. When the user A is not an authorized user, the transmission andreception unit 61 transmits, to the electronic whiteboard 2, anotification indicating that the user A is not an authorized user. Inthe following, an example in which the user A is an authorized user isdescribed.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 of the sharing supportserver 6 searches the access management DB 6002 (see FIG. 7B) using theorganization ID received in S32 as a search key and reads an access IDand an access password corresponding to the search key (Step S34).

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 61 transmits, to theschedule management server 8, reservation request information indicatinginformation on a request for shared resource reservation information andplan request information indicating information on a request for planinformation of the user (Step S35). The reservation request informationand the plan request information include the time zone information andthe user ID and the organization ID of a user of a communicationterminal received in S32, and the access ID and the password read inS34. Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 81 of the schedulemanagement server 8 receives the reservation request information and theplan request information.

Subsequently, the authentication unit 82 of the schedule managementserver 8 authenticates the sharing support server 6 using the access IDand the access password (Step S36). More specifically, the writing andreading unit 89 refers the server authentication management DB 8006 (seeFIG. 11A) to search for a pair of an access ID and an access passwordcorresponding to the access ID and the access password that are receivedin S35. When there is the corresponding pair, the authentication unit 82determines that the access of the sharing support server 6, which is asource of the request, is authorized. When there is no correspondingpair, the authentication unit 82 determines that the access of thesharing support server 6, which is a source of the request, is notauthorized. When the access of the sharing support server 6 is notauthorized, the transmission and reception unit 81 transmits, to thesharing support server 6, a notification indicating that the access isnot authorized. In the following, an example in which the access isauthorized is described.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 of the schedule managementserver 8 searches the shared resource reservation management DB 8004(see FIG. 10A), which is managed by the scheduler specified in theabove, using the user ID of a user of a communication terminal receivedin S35 as a search key and reads reservation information correspondingto the search key (Step S37). In this example, the writing and readingunit 89 reads the reservation information of which the scheduled usestart date and time indicates today.

In addition, the writing and reading unit 89 searches the eventmanagement DB 8005 (see FIG. 10B), which is specified in the above,using the user ID of a user of a communication terminal received in S35as a search key and reads plan information corresponding to the searchkey (Step S38) In this example, the writing and reading unit 89 readsthe plan information of which scheduled event start date and timeindicates today. When the schedule management server 8 is located in acountry or a region different from the communication terminal such asthe electronic whiteboard 2, the time zone is adjusted according to thecountry or the region where the communication terminal is installed andlocated, based on the time zone information.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 searches the projectmember management DB 8007 (see FIG. 11B) using the user ID of a user ofa communication terminal received in S35 as a search key and reads allproject IDs and project names corresponding to the search key, namelyall project IDs and project names including the user ID of a user of acommunication terminal (Step S39).

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 81 transmits, to thesharing support server 6, the reservation information read in S37, theplan information read in S38, and all project IDs and all project namesread in S39 (Step S40). Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit61 of the sharing support server 6 receives the reservation information,the plan information, and all project IDs and all project names.

Subsequently, the preparation unit 63 of the sharing support server 6generates a reservation list based on the reservation information andthe plan information received in S40 (Step S41). Subsequently, thetransmission and reception unit 61 transmits reservation listinformation indicating content of the reservation list, all project IDs,and all project names to the electronic whiteboard 2 (Step S42).Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 21 of the electronicwhiteboard 2 receives the reservation list information, all project IDs,and all project names.

Subsequently, the display control unit 24 of the electronic whiteboard 2causes the display 220 to display a reservation list screen 230, whichis illustrated in FIG. 17 (Step S43). The reservation list screen 230has a display area 231 for displaying a shared resource name (in thisexample, a name of place) and a display area 232 for displaying a dateand time of today. In addition, on the reservation list screen 230,event information 235, 236, 237, etc. indicating events that utilizetoday's shared resource (in this example, the meeting room X) aredisplayed. The event information includes, for each event, a scheduleduse start time to start using the shared resource and a scheduled useend time to end using the shared resource, an event name, and a user IDof a user who made a reservation. The event information includes startbuttons 235 s, 236 s, 237 s, etc., which are to be pressed to identifyan event to be started by the user.

Subsequently, in FIG. 18, when the user A presses the start button 235 sby using, for example, the electronic pen 2500, the receiving unit 22receives the selection of an event indicated by the event information235 (Step S51). Then, the display control unit 24 causes the display 220to display a project list screen 240, which is illustrated in FIG. 19,based on the project ID and the project name received in S42 (Step S52).The project list screen 240 has project icons 241 to 246 each of whichindicates a project. In addition, the project list screen 240 has an“OK” button 248 to be pressed to confirm a selected project icon, and a“CANCEL” button 249 for canceling the selection of the project icon.

Subsequently, in FIG. 19, when the user A presses the project icon 241by using, for example, the electronic pen 2500, the receiving unit 22receives the selection of a project indicated by the project icon 241(Step S53).

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 21 of the electronicwhiteboard 2 transmits, to the sharing support server 6, the plannedevent ID selected in S51 and the project ID of the project selected inS53 (Step S54). Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 61 ofthe sharing support server 6 receives the selected planned event ID andthe selected project ID.

Subsequently, the generating unit 64 of the sharing support server 6generates a unique executed event ID (Step S55). Then, the writing andreading unit 69 manages the executed event ID generated in S55, theplanned event ID received in S54, the user ID and organization ID of theuser who makes a reservation, and the event information, in associationwith each other (Step S56). Note that the user ID and organization ID ofthe user who makes a reservation and the event information are IDs andinformation based on the reservation information and the planinformation received in S40. At this time point, there is no entry inthe field for information on the participation (i.e., the presence orabsence) of each user, namely indicating whether each user attends themeeting or not, in the plan management table (see FIG. 7C).

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 manages the project IDreceived in S54 and the executed event ID generated in S55, inassociation with each other (Step S57). Then, the transmission andreception unit 61 transmits the executed event ID generated in S55 tothe electronic whiteboard 2 (Step S58). Accordingly, the transmissionand reception unit 21 of the electronic whiteboard 2 receives theexecuted event ID.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 29 of the electronicwhiteboard 2 stores the executed event ID in the memory 2000 (Step S59).Then, the display control unit 24 causes the display 220 to display adetail information screen 250, which is illustrated in FIG. 20,including detail information on the event selected (Step S60). Thedetail information screen 250 for an event includes a display area 251for displaying an event name, a display area 252 for displaying ascheduled date and time to carry out an event (scheduled start time andscheduled end date and time), and a display area 253 for displaying aname of a user who made a reservation. In addition, the detailinformation screen 250 for an event displays a display area 256 fordisplaying content of the memo and a display area 257 for displaying theprospective participant names. In the display area 257, the names of theuser who makes a reservation and the other participants, which areindicated in FIG. 15, are displayed, and also check boxes for each userto confirm whether each user actually attends the meeting are displayed.The detail information screen 250 for an event also has, in a lowerright part, a “close” button 259 for closing the detail informationscreen 250.

Subsequently, when the user inputs a check in a check box of a user whoactually participates in the event, and presses the “close” button 259,the receiving unit 22 receives the selection of the participation (StepS61). Then, the transmission and reception unit 21 transmits the user IDof each user who is a prospective participant and information on theparticipation (i.e., the presence or absence) of each user, namelyindicating whether each user attends the meeting or not, to the sharingsupport server 6 (Step S62). Accordingly, the transmission and receptionunit 61 of the sharing support server 6 receives the user name of eachwho is a prospective participant and information on the participation(i.e., the presence or absence) of each user, namely indicating whethereach user attends the meeting or not.

Subsequently, in the sharing support server 6, information on theparticipation (i.e., the presence or absence) of each user, namelyindicating whether each user attends the meeting or not, is stored inthe plan management DB 6003, namely managed by inputting the informationin the corresponding fields, in which inputs have not been made yet.(Step S63).

As described above, the user A starts the event (in this example, thepolicy decision meeting) using the share resource (in this example, themeeting room X) and the communication terminal (in this example, theelectronic whiteboard 2). As illustrated in FIG. 21, the user A can holdthe meeting using the electronic whiteboard 2 in the meeting room X. Itshould be noted that the display control unit 24 displays in the upperright area of the display 220 the remaining time to use the sharedresource. In this example, the display control unit 24 displays a periodof time (remaining time) between the current time and the scheduled endtime indicated by the event information selected in S51.

In addition, the display control unit 24 displays an icon r1 to bepressed for registering an action item and an icon r2 to be pressed forchecking an action item.

Process of Registering Action Item

A process of registering an action item is described below withreference to FIG. 22 to FIG. 25. FIG. 22 is a sequence diagramillustrating a process of registering an action item, according to thepresent embodiment. FIG. 23 is an illustration of a screen fordisplaying an action item, according to the present embodiment. FIG. 24is an illustration of a screen for displaying a list of prospectiveexecutors of an action item, according to the present embodiment. FIG.25 is an illustration of a screen for displaying a calendar forselecting a due date of an action item.

First, in FIG. 21, when the user presses the icon r1, the receiving unit22 receives a request to register an action item (action itemregistration request) (Step S71). Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG.23, when the user uses the electronic pen 2500 to draw an action item(in this example, “submit minutes”) on a drawing screen 260 a of theelectronic whiteboard 2 and then to circle, or enclose with the line 262to generate the identified area, an image (drawn image) 261 that iscontent of and action item, the receiving unit 22 receives theidentified area including the image 261, and the recognition unit 26recognizes the image 261 included in the identified area (Step S72).

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 24, the display control unit 24displays a prospective executor list 265 indicating a list ofprospective executors of the action item on a drawing screen 260 b (StepS73). Subsequently, when the user selects an executor of the action itemby using the electronic pen 2500, the receiving unit 22 receives theselection of the executor of the action item (Step S74).

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 25, the display control unit 24displays a calendar 267 for receiving a due date of execution of theaction item on a drawing screen 260 c (Step S75). Subsequently, when theuser selects the due date by using the electronic pen 2500, thereceiving unit 22 receives the selection of the due date (Step S76). Thecalendar 267 is an example of a due date setting screen. The due datesetting screen may be a date list or the like in which days of the weeketc. are not described.

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 21 transmits actionitem registration request information indicating the action itemregistration request to the sharing support server 6 (Step S77). Theaction item registration request information includes the executed eventID indicating an event in which the action item is generated, the userID of the executor of the action item selected in S74, the image data ofthe action item recognized in S72 (in this example, the image data of“submit minutes”) and the due date of the action item received in S76.That is, the transmission and reception unit 21 transmits the image datain the predetermined area as image data indicating the content of theaction item, which is generated in the executed event. Accordingly, thetransmission and reception unit 61 of the sharing support server 6receives the action item registration request information. When a targetof the registration request is a sub action item, the action item ID foridentifying a main action item related to the sub action item isincluded. A detailed description of the sub action item is deferred.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 of the sharing supportserver 6 searches the executed event management DB 6004 using theexecuted event ID received in S77 as a search key and reads a project IDcorresponding to the search key (Step S78).

Subsequently, the generating unit 64 generates an action item event IDunique to the action item for identifying the action item (Step S79).Then, the writing and reading unit 69 manages, in the action itemmanagement DB 6005, for each executed event 1D received in S77, the userID of the executor of the action item, the due date, and the action itemID received in S79, in association with each other (Step S80). When themain action item ID is received in S77, the writing and reading unit 29also associates the main action item ID to be managed.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 searches the userauthentication management DB 6001 using the user ID of an executor ofthe action item as a search key and reads an organization IDcorresponding to the search key (Step S81).

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 searches the accessmanagement DB 6002 using the organization ID read in S81 as a search keyand reads an access ID and an access password corresponding to thesearch key (Step S82). Subsequently, the generating unit 64 generates aURL, which is a storage destination (location) of the image dataindicating the content of the action item (Step S83). In this example,the generated URL of the image data is stored in the action itemmanagement DB 6005 by the writing and reading unit 69.

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 61 transmits actionitem registration request information indicating an action itemregistration request to the schedule management server 8 (Step S84). Theaction item registration request information includes the project IDread in S78, the user ID of an executor of the action item received inS77, the URL of the image data of the action item generated in S83, andthe due date and the image data of the action item received in S77, andan access ID and an access password read in S82. Accordingly, thetransmission and reception unit 81 of the schedule management server 8receives the action item registration request information.

Subsequently, the authentication unit 82 of the schedule managementserver 8 authenticates the sharing support server 6 using the access IDand the access password (Step S85). Since the authentication processingis substantially the same as the processing of S36 described above, aredundant description thereof is omitted. The following describes anexample in which a result of the authentication includes the informationindicating that the sharing support server 6 is authorized.

The writing and reading unit 89 stores, in the action item management DB8008, each type of data (information) received in S84 (Step S86). As aresult, the schedule management server 8 manages data same as that ofthe sharing support server 6.

Process of Checking Action Item with Electronic Whiteboard

A process of checking an action item with the electronic whiteboard 2 isdescribed below with reference to FIG. 26 to FIG. 27.

First, in FIG. 21, when the user presses the icon r2, the receiving unit22 receives a request to check, or look, an action item (action itemcheck request) (Step S91).

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 21 transmits actionitem check request information indicating the action item check requestto the sharing support server 6 (Step S92). The action item checkrequest information includes the project ID indicating the projectselected in S53. Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 61 ofthe sharing support server 6 receives the action item check requestinformation.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 of the sharing supportserver 6 searches the executed event management DB 6004 using theproject ID received in S92 as a search key and reads an executed eventID corresponding to the search key (Step S93).

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 searches the action itemmanagement DB 6005 using the read executed event ID as a search key andreads action item information corresponding to the search key (StepS94). The action item information includes an action item ID, a user IDof an executor of an action item, a due date, a URL of image data, and amain action item ID, as illustrated in FIG. 8B.

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 61 transmits, to theschedule management server 8, image data request information indicatinga request for image data associated with the URL of image data read inS94 (Step S95). The image data is managed by the schedule managementserver 8. Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 81 of theschedule management server 8 receives the image data requestinformation.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 of the schedule managementserver 8 reads a storage destination (location) of image datacorresponding to the URL (Step S96). Then, the writing and reading unit89 reads the image data from the memory 8000 (Step S97).

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 81 transmits the imagedata to the sharing support server 6 (Step S98). Accordingly, thetransmission and reception unit 61 of the sharing support server 6receives the image data.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 69 of the sharing supportserver 6 searches the user authentication management DB 6001 using theuser ID of the executor of the action item, which is read in S94, as asearch key and reads a user name corresponding to the search key (StepS99). Then, based on the image data received in S98, the user name readin S99, the due date and the main action item ID read in S94, thepreparation unit 63 generates an action item list screen (Step S100).

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 61 transmits actionitem list image data to the electronic whiteboard 2 (Step S101).Accordingly, the transmission and reception unit 21 of the electronicwhiteboard 2 receives the action item list image data.

Subsequently, the display control unit 24 of the electronic whiteboard 2causes the display 220 to display an action item list screen 280, asillustrated in FIG. 27. On the action item list screen 280, a name of anexecutor of each action item and a due date are displayed for each ofthe action item images 281 to 284. In addition, on the action item listscreen 280, pieces of hierarchy information 281L and 283L indicatingrelationship between each main action item and the corresponding subaction item is displayed. For example, an image 282 indicating “submitminutes” is an image originally designated by the electronic pen 2500 asillustrated in FIG. 23, and furthermore, is subsidiary in relation tothe image (action item image) 281 indicating “prepare summarizeddocument”. In addition, at the right of the main action item images 281and 283, addition buttons 281 p and 284 p to be pressed when a subaction item is added are displayed.

Each of the pieces of hierarchy information 281L and 283L is an exampleof information representing relationship indicated by action itemrelated information (second information). The information indicatingrelationship indicated by the action item related information includesletters, icons, and the like of “main”, “sub”, and the like.

As described above, the user can easily understand the relationship, theexecutor, and the due date of each action item.

Process of Registering Sub Action Item with Electronic Whiteboard

A process of registering a sub action item by using the electronicwhiteboard 2 is described below with reference to FIG. 22, FIG. 26, andFIG. 27.

In FIG. 27, when desiring to register a sub action item for a mainaction item, the user presses the addition button 281 p, for example.Accordingly, in FIG. 26, the receiving unit 22 of the electronicwhiteboard 2 receives the selection of the addition button 281 p (StepS103). Then, the display control unit 24 displays a drawn image asillustrated in FIG. 21 again. The user presses the icon r1 in order toregister the sub action item. After that, the processing of S71 to S86illustrated in FIG. 22 is performed. In this case, the main action itemID is transmitted in S77, and the main action item ID is associated tobe managed in S80.

Through this, an action item is registered as a sub action item.

Process of Checking Action Item with PC

A process of checking an action item with the PC 5 is described belowwith reference to FIG. 28 to FIG. 30. FIG. 28 is a sequence diagramillustrating a process of checking, or looking, an action item with thePC 5, according to the present embodiment. FIG. 29 is an illustration ofa project list screen displayed with the PC 5, according to the presentembodiment. FIG. 30 is an illustration of an action item screendisplayed with the PC 5, according to the present embodiment. Sinceprocessing of S111 to S116 in FIG. 28 is substantially the same as theprocessing of S11 to S16 in FIG. 12, a redundant description thereof isomitted.

Subsequently, on the initial screen 540 illustrated in FIG. 14, when theuser presses the “check action item” button 542, the receiving unit 52receives a request to check, or look, an action item (action item checkrequest) (Step S117).

Then, the transmission and reception unit 51 transmits action item checkrequest information indicating the action item check request to theschedule management server 8 (Step S118). Accordingly, the transmissionand reception unit 81 of the schedule management server 8 receives theaction item check request information.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 of the schedule managementserver 8 searches the project member management DB 8007 using the userID and organization ID received in S113 as a search key and reads aproject ID and a project name corresponding to the search key (StepS119). Then, the transmission and reception unit 81 transmits theproject ID and the project name to the PC 5 (Step S120).

Subsequently, the display control unit 54 of the PC 5 causes the display508 to display a project list screen 570, which is illustrated in FIG.29 (Step S121). The project list screen 570 displays similar or the samecontent as the project list screen 240 of FIG. 19 displayed on theelectronic whiteboard 2. That is, project icons 571 to 576 and buttons578 and 579 in FIG. 29 correspond to the project icons 241 to 246 andthe buttons 248 and 249 in FIG. 19, respectively.

Subsequently, in FIG. 29, when the user A presses the project icon 571by using, for example, the mouse 512, the receiving unit 52 receives theselection of a project indicated by the project icon 571 (Step S122).

Subsequently, the transmission and reception unit 51 of the PC 5transmits the project ID and the project name selected in S122 to theschedule management server 8 (Step S123). Accordingly, the transmissionand reception unit 81 of the schedule management server 8 receives theproject ID.

Subsequently, the writing and reading unit 89 of the schedule managementserver 8 searches the action item management DB 8008 using the projectID received in S123 as a search key and reads information on an actionitem corresponding to the search key (Step S124). The information on anaction item includes an action item ID, a user ID of an executor of theaction item, a due date, and a storage location of image data indicatingcontent of the action item. Subsequently, the writing and reading unit89 reads image data indicating content of the action item from thestorage location of the image data indicating content of the action itemis saved (Step S125). In addition, the writing and reading unit 89searches the user management DB 8002 using the user ID of an executor ofthe action item read in S124 as a search key and reads a user namecorresponding to the search key (Step S126). Subsequently, thetransmission and reception unit 81 transmits, to the PC 5, the actionitem ID, the user ID of the executor of the action item, and the duedate, which are read in S124, the image data read in S125, and the username read in S126 (Step S127). Accordingly, the transmission andreception unit 51 of the PC 5 receives the user ID and the user name ofthe executor of the action item, the image data of the action item, andthe due date.

Then, the display control unit 54 of the PC 5 causes the display 508 todisplay an action item screen 580, which is illustrated in FIG. 30,based on the data (information) received in S127 (Step S128). Asillustrated in FIG. 30, the action item screen 580 includes pieces ofaction item information 581 to 584. For example, the action iteminformation 581 includes an image indicating the content of the actionitem identified in FIG. 23, the user name selected in FIG. 24, and thedue date set in FIG. 25. The action item screen 580 also has, in a lowerright part, a “close” button 589 for closing the action item screen 580.

As described above, the user can look and check the action items thatare generated in a plurality of events within the same project.

With reference to FIG. 28, the example in which the action item ischecked by the PC 5 is described above. With reference to FIG. 28, theexample in which the action item is checked by the PC 5 is describedabove. In the substantially same manner, the action items can be checkedor looked with the electronic whiteboard 2 when the user presses theicon r2 in FIG. 21.

According to the present embodiment described above, as illustrated inFIG. 23, FIG. 24, and FIG. 25, the user can set an action item, anexecutor of the action item, and a due date of the action item by usingthe electronic whiteboard 2 being used in the current meeting.

This makes sure that the action item generated in the meeting is to beperformed. In addition, the user does not have to use, for example, thePC 5 to register the action item by accessing a server such as ascheduler, resulting in reduction of the workload of the user.

In addition, the relationship between a main and a sub can also beregistered at the time of registering the action item, and thus, itbecomes easy to understand the relationship among a plurality of actionitems even if the plurality of action items is generated by executing aplurality of events in one project.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 23, when the user merely draws theline 262 to encloses an image (in this example, “submit minutes”) 261indicating the content of the action item drawn with the electronic pen2500, the electronic whiteboard 2 recognizes the image 261 as the imageof action item and thus, specifies the content of the action itemeasily.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 24, the electronic whiteboard 2 displaysthe prospective executor list 265 indicating a list of prospectiveexecutors of the action item to allow the user to select one of theexecutors of the action item so that the user does not have to input theexecutor's name.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 25, the electronic whiteboard 2displays the calendar 267 for selecting a due date of each action itemto allow the user to select a due date of each action item so that theuser does not have to input the due date.

Any one of the above-described operations may be performed in variousother ways, for example, in an order different from the one describedabove.

Although the embodiments of the disclosure have been described andillustrated above, such description is not intended to limit thedisclosure to the illustrated embodiments.

Numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, withinthe scope of the appended claims, the disclosure of this patentspecification may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein. For example, elements and/or features of different illustrativeembodiments may be combined with each other and/or substituted for eachother within the scope of this disclosure and appended claims.

As can be appreciated by those skilled in the computer arts, thisinvention may be implemented as convenient using a conventionalgeneral-purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachingsof the present specification. Appropriate software coding can readily beprepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the presentdisclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the software arts.The present invention may also be implemented by the preparation ofapplication-specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting anappropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the relevant art.

Each of the functions of the described embodiments may be implemented byone or more processing circuits. A processing circuit includes aprogrammed processor. A processing circuit also includes devices such asan application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), DSP (digital signalprocessor), FPGA (field programmable gate array), and conventionalcircuit components arranged to perform the recited functions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sharing support server, comprising: a memory;and circuitry supporting use of a resource that is shared among aplurality of users, the circuitry configured to: receive, from anelectronic whiteboard via a network, a transmission includinginformation on an action item that is generated by the electronicwhiteboard using the resource during an event, wherein the informationon the action item includes a user identifier and a due date for theaction item; store, in the memory, first information and secondinformation in association with each other, the first informationindicating a storage location of image data indicating content of theaction item, and the second information indicating whether the actionitem is a main action item or a sub action item; register, in the memoryin response to receiving information from the electronic whiteboard viathe network that the user has selected a first icon displayed by theelectronic whiteboard, information indicating that the action item isthe sub action item and a relationship between the sub action item and acorresponding main action item; receive, from the electronic whiteboardvia the network in response to a user selection of a second icondisplayed by the electronic whiteboard, an action item check request;generate, in response to the action item check request, screen data ofthe action item, the screen data including the image data representingthe content indicated by the first information, data representing therelationship indicated by the second information, a user namecorresponding to the user identifier and the due date for the actionitem; and transmit, via the network, the screen data to the electronicwhiteboard for display by the electronic whiteboard.
 2. The sharingsupport server according to claim 1, wherein in the case that the actionitem is the sub action item, the circuitry generates the screen data soas to include main image data indicating content of the main action itemand sub image data indicating content of the sub action item, the subimage data being associated with the main image data in the screen data.3. The sharing support server according to claim 2, wherein, thecircuitry is further configured to store, in the memory, the user namewhich is of an executor responsible for executing the action item, andthe circuitry generates the screen data so as to include information onthe user name of the executor, the information being associated with theimage data in the screen data.
 4. The sharing support server accordingto claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to store, in thememory, the due date of the action item, and the circuitry generates thescreen data so as to include information on the due date, theinformation on the due date being associated with the image data in thescreen data.
 5. The sharing support server according to claim 1, whereinthe circuitry is further configured to transmit, to a management serverthat manages the image data, a request for the image data, using thefirst information, and receive the image data from the managementserver.
 6. A sharing system, comprising: the sharing support serveraccording to claim 1; and the electronic whiteboard, wherein theelectronic whiteboard is configured to display the screen datatransmitted from the sharing support server.
 7. A sharing support methodperformed by a sharing support server supporting use of a resource to beshared among a plurality of users, the sharing support methodcomprising: receiving, by circuitry of the sharing support server froman electronic whiteboard via a network, a transmission includinginformation on an action item that is generated by the electronicwhiteboard using the resource during an event, wherein the informationon the action item includes a user identifier and a due date for theaction item; storing, in a memory of the sharing support server, firstinformation and second information in association with each other, thefirst information indicating a storage location of image data indicatingcontent of the action item, and the second information indicatingwhether the action item is a main action item or a sub action item;registering, in the memory in response to receiving information from theelectronic whiteboard via the network that the user has selected a firsticon displayed by the electronic whiteboard, information indicating thatthe action item is the sub action item and a relationship between thesub action item and a corresponding main action item; receiving, fromthe electronic whiteboard via the network in response to a userselection of a second icon displayed by the electronic whiteboard, anaction item check request; generating, in response to the action itemcheck request, screen data of the action item, the screen data includingthe image data representing the content indicated by the firstinformation, data representing the relationship indicated by the secondinformation, a user name corresponding to the user identifier and thedue date for the action item; and transmitting, via the network, thescreen data to the electronic whiteboard for display by the electronicwhiteboard.
 8. The sharing support method according to claim 7, furthercomprising: in a case that the action item is the sub action item,generating the screen data so as to include main image data indicatingcontent of the main action item and sub image data indicating content ofthe sub action item, the sub image data being associated with the mainimage data in the screen data.
 9. The sharing support method accordingto claim 8, further comprising: storing, in the memory, the user namewhich is of an executor responsible for executing the action item; andgenerating the screen data so as to include information on the user nameof the executor, the information being associated with the image data inthe screen data.
 10. The sharing support method according to claim 7,further comprising: storing, in the memory, the due date of the actionitem; and generating the screen data so as to include information on thedue date, the information on the due date being associated with theimage data in the screen data.
 11. The sharing support method accordingto claim 7, further comprising: transmitting, to a management serverthat manages the image data, a request for the image data, using thefirst information; and receiving the image data from the managementserver.
 12. A non-transitory recording medium storing a plurality ofinstructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause theprocessors to perform a method, comprising: receiving, from anelectronic whiteboard via a network, a transmission includinginformation on an action item that is generated by the electronicwhiteboard in an event using a resource during an event, wherein theinformation on the action item includes a user identifier and a due datefor the action item; storing, in a memory, first information and secondinformation in association with each other, the first informationindicating a storage location of image data indicating content of theaction item, and the second information indicating whether the actionitem is a main action item or a sub action item; registering, in thememory in response to receiving information from the electronicwhiteboard via the network that the user has selected a first icondisplayed by the electronic whiteboard, information indicating that theaction item is the sub action item, a relationship between the subaction item and a corresponding main action item; receiving, from theelectronic whiteboard via the network in response to a user selection ofa second icon displayed by the electronic whiteboard, an action itemcheck request; generating, in response to the action item check request,screen data of the action item, the screen data including the image datarepresenting the content indicated by the first information, datarepresenting the relationship indicated by the second information, auser name corresponding to the user identifier and the due date for theaction item; and transmitting, via the network, the screen data to theelectronic whiteboard for display by the electronic whiteboard.
 13. Thenon-transitory recording medium according to claim 12, wherein themethod further comprises: in a case that the action item is the subaction item, generating the screen data so as to include main image dataindicating content of the main action item and sub image data indicatingcontent of the sub action item, the sub image data being associated withthe main image data in the screen data.
 14. The non-transitory recordingmedium according to claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:storing, in the memory, the user name which is of an executorresponsible for executing the action item; and generating the screendata so as to include information on the user name of the executor, theinformation being associated with the image data in the screen data. 15.The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 12, wherein themethod further comprises: storing, in the memory, due date of the actionitem; and generating the screen data so as to include information on thedue date, the information on the due date being associated with theimage data in the screen data.
 16. The non-transitory recording mediumaccording to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:transmitting, to a management server that manages the image data, arequest for the image data, using the first information; and receivingthe image data from the management server.